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"No"

Valek gave rip "Good They’re probably the best instructors at the castle How did you meet them?"

"They were the men who found me in the forest The Coratitude" My hand tingled where he had touched it

"Opportunistic and underhanded, I love it" Valek laughed He was in a good mood as he walked besideso many opponents Before we reached the east entrance, he stopped "There’s one problem"

My heartbeat increased to double time "What?"

"You shouldn’t train so visibly Word spreads quickly If Brazell finds out and makes a fuss, the Commander will order you to stop And it’ll make the Commander suspicious"

We entered the cool, dark air of the castle It was a relief to be out of the hot sun

"Why don’t you make use of all those empty storerooms in the lower level of the castle? You can still run laps in the ht sarcastically, jogging was the one aspect of training I would have been willing to give up However, Valek was right, working with Ari and Janco in the ative attention Mainly Nix, whose scowls and nasty glares burned on h the castle I was headed to the Commander’s office to taste his dinner He walked withto ask you about that Criollo that the Commander enjoys Do you like the taste of it?"

I chose my words with care "Yes, it’s an excellent dessert"

"If you stopped eating it, hoould you feel?"

"Well…" I hesitated, unsure where this conversation was leading "Truthfully, I would be disappointed I look forward to eating a piece every "

"Have you ever craved the Criollo?" Valek inquired

I finally understood where his pointed questions were leading "Like an addiction?"

He nodded

"I don’t think so, but…"

"But what?"

"I only eat it once a day The Co snack Why this sudden concern?" I asked